The Fellowship of Evangelical Churches will gather for its annual conference on July 27-28 at the Parkview Mirro Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This year, the theme will be “Illumine,” FEC President Rocky Rocholl announced. Choosing “illumine,” which means “to light up or brighten,” intentionally points everyone to God’s message in John 8:12 when Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” Rocky says this speaks to the hope we have in Christ, especially in the darker times we’ve faced in recent years.
Our society has experienced division, polarization, and negativity, but Rocky Rocholl sees this conference as a chance for making connections between churches and generations and “to celebrate what God has done.”
Anyone serving and leading in ministry knows it’s not easy. “Pastoral stress is huge,” Rocky says. Walking alongside other shepherds who understand you and pray for you can make a significant impact. During last year’s conference, the lead pastor from one of FEC’s smaller churches came with all of his board and their spouses. Being poured into with truth, encouragement, and fellowship helped him realize they weren’t alone. The pastor and his team went home “extremely encouraged” that they were on the right path.
In past years, the two-day conference has brought in leaders from around 70 different FEC churches and more than 200 attendees. Pastors, staff members, missionaries, church planters, lay workers, and spouses all gather in an atmosphere much like a “family reunion,” Rocky says, with the sweetness of the Holy Spirit stirring and encouraging believers just as we saw in the early church in Acts.
Keynote speakers and sessions will all center around the year’s theme of “Illumine” with topics such as what evangelism looks like in an age of chaos, hands-on advice for being the light in ministry, and finding ways to better understand our community around us. “If we don’t take the light outside the church to the community, it doesn’t change the darkness in the world.”
